The Bleed: Book 2: RAPTURE David Moody (the red fox clan txt) 📖

your life to escape a world-devouring demonic entity was just par for the course in these strangest of days. Once the first few hundred had entered the water, followed by the first few thousand more, most of the remaining masses weren’t far behind. Some, of course, still refused to believe anything the disembodied woman’s voice had told them, even after all they’d seen of the Bleed. It broke Jenny’s heart to see them: those people still stubbornly refusing to move, people who’d lived here before the Bleed and who weren’t prepared to abandon their homes and possessions, and others who’d taken up residence in bars and similar places, clinging on to memories to get them through their final hours. She had to accept she couldn’t do anything for people like that. Her job was to make them aware and give them a chance. What they did with those opportunities was up to them. The future—if anyone had one—looked bleak. She knew there was something to be said for kicking back with a beer and watching the fireworks.

The ocean was more like a lake than the open sea now, the gently cupping wall of the orb having long since silenced the tides. The only disturbances came when the Bleed became frustrated and began trying to beat its way through the forcefield. It constantly formed grotesque, lumpy appendages which approximated simple hands trying to pick and smash their way through.

The water was warmer and more welcoming than expected, though its depth continued to present problems to many of those escaping the land. Where they were no longer able to feel the sand beneath their feet, some of them began to form human islands—linking arms and legs and doing what they could to help each other stay afloat. Parents carried kids on their shoulders or on their backs. The elderly were supported by the young. Those who were weaker were held up by the strong. A sixty-mile-long area of surf was steadily filling with people.

And yet, for all those who worked cooperatively, and those who chose to stay behind, there were many more who were prepared to do anything to survive, at the expense of everyone else. The odds were stacked against those who had found themselves farthest from the coast. Many people, believing they had a God given right to be among the chosen few, charged east as fast and as hard as they could, trying to punch and smash their way through traffic- and body-clogged streets, failing to realize that they were getting nowhere fast. Major routes became impossibly clogged, and minor roads fared little better.

Considering the fact this was unquestionably the end of planet Earth, it was frustrating how many of these people allowed themselves to be held back by the restrictive rules of their dying society. Huge numbers continued to follow established laws and routes, and huge numbers more simply continued to follow everyone else. Those who thought differently were more successful. There were no more trains running, so why not walk along the tracks? The ownership of physical property and defined boundaries were no longer important, so why continue to respect them? That thought struck a woman who, needing to get around an imposing looking house and its vast fenced grounds, watched people sprinting around the edges of the massive estate trying to find a way through. Instead, she simply climbed over the back fence, walked the length of the garden, then entered through a back door and let herself out the front. It took half the time it would have done to go the full distance. Other people followed her example, and others had the same idea as they tried to get around other obstacles and monuments. The direct route was the best route.

More haste, less speed was an overused cliché, but on this day it had never been a truer maxim. Bottlenecks formed where those moving at speed to reach the coast came up against those who simply couldn’t go as quickly. And where those bottlenecks had formed, violence inevitably ensued.

Watching from the clockwork room, both Jenny and Maddie found it heartbreaking.

“We can’t do any more than we already are,” Maddie reassured her.

“Christ, though, just look at them. What don’t they understand? If they cooperate and help each other, more of them will make it.”

“I think you already know the answer to that, Jen. It’s human nature. We’re hardwired to screw each other over in the name of self-preservation.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“That’s life. And despite your half-god credentials, you’re in no position to preach. Where they’re concerned, you’re the person who is responsible for the death of millions, remember?”

“I know. Don’t think I haven’t forgotten. The guilt eats at me constantly.”

“Even the other timeline, it wasn’t you. She looked like you, talked like you, walked like you…but she wasn’t you.”

“It’s in the genes, I’m sure of it. Look at what’s happened here. Sure, I’m doing what I can to save a few million, but billions have died because of me.”

“Cut the crap and focus. How many times do we have to have this conversation? The fact the Bleed came here wasn’t your fault. If it wasn’t for you, there’d be no human race at all right now. You’re the one giving the species a fighting chance.”

“I wouldn’t have done any of it without you.”

“Yeah, and don’t you forget it. It’s time to make our move. I’ll do what I can with the orb, you get ready to get us out of here.”

Jenny assumed her position at the controls. “I’m aiming for your moon, but you do realize I’ve never piloted this thing before, don’t you?”

“I do. Anyplace is better than this. Just do what you can to get us out of here.”

“And you’re sure the room will have enough power to put a forcefield right around your moon when we get there?”

“No problem. The moon is around two and a half thousand miles in diameter. We managed around three thousand when we first launched this orb.”

Jenny returned her